Sessions, Speakers and Full Details

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

9-10 am: Pre-Conference Experience For All Attendees - Executive Briefing: Exclusive Insight with the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center – Discover How Elite Performance is Powered by Athletes And Business Acumen

Go behind the scenes of one of the most iconic athletic institutions in the world with this exclusive panel on The Business of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center. Discover how elite performance is powered not only by athletes, but by strategy, partnerships, operations, and innovation.
Panelists from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee staff will explore how the Training Center fuels Team USA’s success—from funding models and brand partnerships to athlete services, facility management, and global visibility.

Whether you’re curious about nonprofit sports governance, sponsorship strategy, or high-performance operations, this conversation offers rare insight into the infrastructure and leadership that drive Olympic excellence.

Available to all Conference attendees, but registration is required. Don’t miss this dynamic session that blends mission, performance, and business impact at the highest level.

10-11 am: Pre-Conference Experience For All Attendees - Exclusive Behind The Scenes Tour of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center

Step into the heart of Olympic & Paralympic excellence with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. This privately hosted experience offers a rare, insider’s look at where America’s top athletes live, train, and prepare to represent Team USA on the world stage. Discover how elite performance is powered not only by athletes, but by strategy, partnerships, operations, and innovation.

Guided by leaders from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee team, attendees will explore elite training facilities, learn about athlete support services, and gain insight into the operations and logistics that power Olympic and Paralympic performance.
From world-class coaching to sports science and international coordination, this immersive tour reveals the incredible infrastructure behind the pursuit of gold.

Available to all Conference attendees, but registration is required. Don’t miss this dynamic session that blends mission, performance, and business impact at the highest level.

10 am - 4 pm: Attendee Arrivals and Exhibitor Set-up

11:30 am--1:30 pm and 1:45 - 3:55 pm: Pre-Conference Sessions Building a Fit-for-Purpose Board for Your Association
Speaker: Jeff De Cagna

Available to all Conference attendees, but registration is required.

In a world experiencing systemic upheaval, risks, and problems, every association needs its boards of directors to be disciplined, focused, and prepared to stand up for their successors' futures, i.e., fit for purpose. Building a fit-for-purpose board must be a top priority for all associations for the rest of 2025 and beyond. In this high-impact pre-conference session, you will learn what it will take to build a fit-for-purpose board for your association by exploring the following three critical learning questions:

How do our community's orthodox beliefs interfere with your board's ability to be fit for purpose?
What are the three stewardship imperatives that will help your board become fit for purpose?
What are the core convictions, habits of mind, and next practices your board must adopt to become fit for purpose?

2 pm - 3 pm: Hosted tour of Hotel Polaris with Melissa Gonyea, Senior Sales Manager, Hotel Polaris

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of Colorado Springs' newest hotel, and host of the 2025 Annual Conference.

4 pm - 5 pm: Opening Session/Ice-Breaker

5 pm - 7 pm: Opening Reception

Thursday, June 5, 2025

8:15--9:15 am: Opening Keynote: How Big Is Your Playground? The Unexpected Power of Boundaries
Speaker: Sheri Jacobs, FASAE, CAE, Avenue M Group, CEO & President

9:30--10:15 am: Breakout Session 1: Leading Your Association to Thrive in a Fluid and Dynamic Environment
Speakers: Emily Musser, Vice President and Daniel Kravitz, Vice President, and Shannon Stone, Senior Relationship Manager, AMG National Trust

What do association leaders need to know to effectively manage and grow the financial and human resources that will enhance your Association’s success today and into the future? Understanding today’s rapidly changing economic and policy environment is critical to your ability to lead your association, steward its assets, and support your member organizations.

Join AMG National Trust experts for a discussion of recent policy shifts and ones we still expect on deregulation, tariffs, tax policy, immigration, energy, and keeping inflation in check. We’ll share our view of the most likely economic path in 2025 and 2026 and highlight considerations for managing your association and assets. AMG is the official bank of CSAE and trusted resource for economic analysis and investment management, retirement plans, and commercial banking for associations.

Learning Objectives

What do leaders need to know about the economy and markets; what may be most relevant for your association’s success?

AMG’s 3-year economic outlook and current economic analysis will be shared with time for Association leaders to ask questions.
The “7 Economic Scenarios” illustrate different paths the economy may take during the 2025-2027 period. Understanding our base case, or most likely scenario, as well as other scenarios that illustrate the effects of potential shocks to the economic environment enhances your ability to lead.

Investment themes and risks to avoid in this economic environment
Current hot topics

9:30--10:15 am: Breakout Session 2: Amplify Your Impact: Using Public Speaking to Boost Your Career and Association's Brand
Speaker: Mike Skinner, Director of Engineering, CO Asphalt Pavement Association

Public speaking is a powerful tool for association executives, serving as a catalyst for personal career advancement and a key strategy for enhancing your association's reputation. In this dynamic session, learn how to harness the art of public speaking to establish yourself as a thought leader, bolster your association's public image, and build trust with stakeholders. Drawing on three decades of public speaking expertise, this session will explore how effective communication can expand your personal brand while strategically advancing the mission and visibility of your organization. Participants will leave with actionable techniques to captivate audiences, deliver impactful messages, and transform speaking engagements into opportunities for growth. Session Topics • Personal Brand Development Through Public Speaking • Advancing the Association’s Mission and Reputation • Tools and Techniques for Speaking Success Session Objectives • Demonstrate the career benefits of mastering public speaking. • Showcase how speaking can enhance the association’s brand and reputation. • Provide actionable tools and strategies.

9:30--10:15 am: Breakout Session 3: Rob Bean presentation re a topic focused on websites, digital marketing, etc.

10:30--11:15 am: Breakout Session 4: Executive Orders, The New Administration and What Should Associations Be Aware of Related to Legal Considerations in 2025?
Speaker: Cara Lawrence, Partner, Tierney Lawrence Stiles

10:30--11:15 am: Breakout Session 5: What's New in the Event Planning Space for 2025?

10:30--11:15 am: Breakout 6: Unlocking Growth : Membership Sales, Partnerships, & Revenue Strategies"--Advanced membership principles, practical applications; sponsorship recruitment, cultivation and development
Speakers: Travis Skodak, Director of Membership, American Oil Chemists Society, and Lauren Leeman, Director, Investor Relations, CO Chamber of Commerce

In this session, we will explore proven strategies to drive membership growth, enhance partnership engagement, and maximize revenue. You will learn how to refine your membership sales approach, identify year-round customer engagement tactics that support multi-year revenue streams, and uncover strategies to strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. Every interaction shapes the member or customer experience. In this session, we’ll explore how small moments of connection cultivate credibility, create lasting loyalty, and invite authentic long-term partnerships. Learning Outcomes: -Develop confidence in your value proposition. -Enhance partnership engagement to drive long-term financial sustainability. -Strengthen your approach towards multi-year / long-term relationship management for your membership and sales cycle.

11:30 am – 1:15 pm Annual Business and Awards Luncheon
2024/2025 Year In Review
Board Elections
Annual Awards
CAE Celebration Across Colorado, sponsored by Visit Pueblo

1:30--2:15 pm: Breakout Session 7: Reskilling the Global Workforce: Why Associations Must Lead — and the Everyday AI Tools That Will Make It Possible
Speaker: Dan Streeter, Founder, Mission Fuel

As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and disrupts careers at an unprecedented pace, one fact is clear: the world needs fast, massive reskilling — and associations are the only force capable of leading it. Traditional education systems move too slowly. Bootcamps are too small. Associations, with their reach, trust, and agility, are uniquely positioned to reskill millions and stabilize the global economy.

In this session, you'll discover why the future of work depends on associations — and how you can step into this urgent leadership role. Even better, we won't just talk about the opportunity: we'll show you practical, everyday AI tools that associations can use right now to transform advocacy, education, and community development at scale.

Walk away with the insight, urgency, and AI-powered tools you need to reskill both your workforce and your staff — and secure your association’s leadership in shaping the future of the global economy.

1:30--2:15 pm: Breakout Session 8: Hardball Advocacy: Secrets of the Lobby / Legislative Advocacy for Associations: Building Influence and Advancing Policy
Speakers: Corky Kyle, The Kyle Group and Lisa Hough, President and CEO, Adams County Regional Economic Development Corporation

Corky and Lisa will discuss the importance of legislative advocacy for associations of all industries and sizes, including the building blocks of lobbying to affect public policy. Additional topics will include the most recent federal legislation regarding the bill to allow 529 funds be allowed to be used for certications and credentials and any other national or local legislative updates.

1:30--2:15 pm: Breakout Session 9: Better Together: The Power of Staff Share
Speakers: Michael Hoehn, COO, IASLC; Teresa Fraker, Executive Director, OMA; Kelsey Wood, Membership Director, IASLC; Christian DeSousa, Membership Director, OMA

When two associations from very different fields—lung cancer research and obesity medicine—came together to exchange staff knowledge and operational insights, the result was deeper understanding, new professional relationships, and fresh ideas to bring back to their organizations. In this session, leaders from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) share how a simple idea—born from a CSAE case study—grew into a powerful and replicable staff exchange initiative.

Participants will hear the story of how the staff share was developed, what worked, what was learned, and how teams from both associations gained from the experience. Then, attendees will be paired with peers from similar or mission-aligned organizations to brainstorm opportunities for their own staff shares. The session concludes with a guided activity to help attendees draft a customized exchange agenda they can use to launch their own program.

This session is designed to be dynamic, interactive, and rooted in real-world implementation. Participants will leave with both inspiration and a concrete framework for initiating staff exchanges within their own networks.

2:30--4:15 pm: Breakout 10: Leadership Lenses to Navigate our Complex Times
Speaker: David Worley, President and CEO, Denver South Economic Development

Learning Outcomes:
Together, we will explore how Association leaders can:

Improve problem-solving through better diagnosis.
Clarify team roles for better staff coaching.
Reduce time and aggravation spent on underperformance issues.
Build allies to navigate organizational politics.
Use symbolic actions to reinforce leadership.
Enjoy our roles and experience less stress.

2:30--3:15 pm: Breakout 11: Supercharged Data: Turning Insights into Action for Your Association
Speaker: Jon Serafino, Director, Wipfli

Explore how associations can harness the power of their data to make smarter decisions, improve member engagement, and drive organizational success. This session provides actionable steps to build a data strategy, implement analytics dashboards, and create a culture of data-driven innovation. Attendees will learn where they are on the Analytics Continuum and identify the necessary steps to create visualizations that resonate with stakeholders.

2:30--3:15 pm: Breakout Session 12: Educational Offerings in the Not-For-Profit versus For-Profit Space
Speakers: Joan Hablutzel, Senior Director, Education, Events, and Operations, OMA, and Alex Mozeley, Director, Education Development, DBC Pri-Med, LLC

In the world of continuing education, are not-for-profit and for-profit organizations destined to compete—or is there a smarter path forward?

This session brings together education leaders from both sectors to explore how collaboration, rather than competition, can lead to broader reach, stronger content, and greater impact. Drawing from real-world partnerships and diverse organizational experiences, the panelists will discuss how different business models shape educational priorities, innovation, and delivery—and how those differences can be leveraged for mutual benefit.

Whether your organization is mission-driven, revenue-focused, or somewhere in between, you’ll gain practical insights into navigating partnerships, aligning goals, and thinking beyond the traditional sector silos to elevate the learner experience.

Objectives -- By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Compare and contrast the strategic approaches and operational drivers of not-for-profit and for-profit education providers, and identify opportunities for collaboration that enhance learner engagement, program design, and distribution.
Apply practical insights from real-world experiences and cross-sector perspectives to foster successful partnerships that align goals, overcome challenges, and drive greater impact in continuing education.

3:30--4:30 pm: Breakout Session 13: When Values Collide: Ethical Association Leadership in an Era of Division
Speaker: Kristin Richeimer, CAE, Executive Director, Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (CCAHM)

In these turbulent times, association leaders may find themselves caught between competing stakeholder expectations when faced with political and social issues and division. From balancing member demands to navigating advocacy and public perception, leaders must make principled decisions in an environment where values often collide. This session builds upon basic ethics foundations to provide a framework for navigating these complex situations. Highlighting research on values-driven leadership during crisis, participants will work interactively through scenarios where mission, member diversity, staff values, and external political pressures create challenging ethical situations for today’s association leaders. Participants will utilize and take away targeted tools for staff teams and leadership to navigate current and future potential challenges and division.

3:30--4:15 pm: Breakout Session 14: The Stories We Tell (And the Connections They Create): A storytelling experience for Leaders, Planners and Culture Shapers
Speaker: Keith Bailey, Founder, Articulated Intelligence

The stories we tell shape how others see us—and how deeply they trust us. In leadership, storytelling isn’t just a soft skill; it’s a trust-building superpower. Whether you’re leading teams, designing a conference, or planning a high-stakes event, your ability to tell intentional, authentic stories directly impacts how people connect, follow, and engage.

This session is both introduction to and an immersion in the With 1 Word® storytelling method—an actionable framework to uncover, shape, and share stories that build affective trust: the kind of trust people feel emotionally before any results are seen. You’ll experience how intentional storytelling creates deeper team cohesion, stronger conference experiences, and more relatable affective leadership.

Because how a story sounds in your head is never how it lands in the room—you’ll practice out loud. This isn’t just theory. It’s a training ground for influence.

This session isn’t just for you. It’s for the people who count on you to help them create connections.

Learning Outcomes / Session Goals:

Leave with story frameworks that enhance team communication, elevate the impact of events, and strengthen your leadership voice
Gain a repeatable process for discovering the right story for any audience or situation
Learn the SARM formula for crafting stories that are Specific, Authentic, Relatable, and Memorable
Practice telling stories out loud to develop your delivery and presence in real-time
Understand how affective trust is built through storytelling—and how it transforms leadership, events, and team dynamics

3:30--4:15 pm: Breakout Session 15: Let’s Cut to the Chase: Two Engagement Campaigns that Hit Different
Speakers:
Liliana Arguello, SHRM-SCP, Director of Membership, Professionals in Human Resources Association
Savannah Spakes, Membership Coordinator, IASLC

Ready to transform your membership engagement strategies? This session will explore the engagement campaigns that truly deliver, helping you draw in members creatively and purposefully at critical points in the membership lifecycle. By exploring real-life case studies, discover how to craft influential messages, design wow-worthy onboarding experiences, and keep members coming back while helping them achieve their career objectives. You’ll also learn the secrets to no-nonsense onboarding and proven tactics to win back lapsed members. This isn’t just a session—it’s hands-on experience creating campaigns and processes that stand out and drive results toward your membership goals. You’ll leave with actionable ideas, templates, and the inspiration to take your member engagement to the next level.

4:30--5:30 pm: Meetups with Colleagues Across CSAE:

a) Interested in CAE Pursuit
b) First Time Annual CSAE Conference Attendees
c) Emerging Leaders/Young Professionals

6 pm-8 pm: DineAbout in Colorado Springs

8:00--10:00 pm: Hospitality Suite sponsored by Visit Fort Collins

Friday, June 6

8:15--9:15 am: Keynote Speaker: Amputate to Elevate: Transform Adversity Into Advantage
Speaker: John Register, CEO and Founder, Inspired Communication International

In this inspiring and thought-provoking keynote, John Register - Paralympic silver medalist, Army veteran, and change management expert - delivers a message rooted in resilience, hope, and transformation. After losing his left leg in a service-related injury, John made the courageous decision to “amputate fear” and rise above adversity. His journey illustrates how setbacks can become springboards when we choose to release what no longer serves us.

Through his signature framework, the Re³ Resilience Action Model™—Reckoning, Revision, and Renewal—John guides audiences in shifting their mindset, embracing uncertainty, and leading with purpose. This session offers more than motivation; it provides practical tools to help individuals and teams navigate disruption and rediscover inspiration in their work and lives.

This talk is perfect for all attendees looking to reignite a sense of hope, purpose, and possibility, this session will leave attendees empowered to face challenges with a renewed spirit and a clear path forward.

9:15 am - 9:35 am: Long Break for Final Exhibits, and Hotel Check-Out / Luggage Storage Available

9:35--11:00 am: Breakout Session 16: What We Must Understand about AI: Six Purposeful Provocations

As the global adoption of AI expands unabated, it is crucial to understand the profound implications of this ongoing evolution for each of us as human beings, professionals, and citizens. In the first part, we will present the first three of six purposeful provocations that will question our orthodox beliefs and challenge our perspectives on AI adoption. Continuing our first partconversation, the second part will present three more purposeful provocations that will push us to think critically about AI and its potential consequences for our associations, our community, and our successors. By cutting through the AI hype, we can separate the reality from the rhetoric, and see AI's present and future more clearly.

9:35--11:00 am: Breakout Session 17: Case Studies from the Association Field
Speakers/Facilitors: Kelsey Wood, Membership Director, IASLC, and Teresa Fraker, Executive Director, OMA

Choose to close out the 2025 CSAE Annual Conference with a one-of-a-kind immersive experience designed to bridge learning with real-world application: “Case Study: How Would You Solve It?” Attendees will be assembled at facilitator-led tables with other colleagues and each table will be presented with a case study or “problem” from the association field. Each group will discuss potential solution(s) relative to their assigned case study. The case studies have been curated from the ASAE’s existing Certified Association Executive (CAE) Domains Examination format, which includes areas such as Business Development, Operations, Governance, Membership, and Marketing. Attendees will be assembled at facilitator-led tables with other colleagues and each table will be presented with a case study or “problem” from the association field.

Each group will discuss potential solution(s) relative to their assigned case study. Regardless of your area of expertise, all collective voices are welcomed as you collaborate with colleagues from other associations as you endeavor to solve “real world” scenarios facing ALL staff in the association industry. As a bonus, at the conclusion of this workshop, attendees will be provided with a “how to” notes guide to ALL of the case studies presented with tangible solutions to the real-world problems presented. Interested in a “roll up your sleeves” approach to association problem solving with fellow colleagues? If so, this is a DO NOT MISS session to close the CSAE’s 2025 Annual Conference!!

11:00--11:15 am: Recap, Wrap-Up and Adjourn: What Are Your Key Learnings? Key Takeaways, What Will You Take to Your Association on Monday AM?"